Easter

All this for ME?

A chocolate bunny and cars....I love this Easter Bunny guy!

In my pretty Easter dress

Easter Church made me SLEEPY!

Easter Egg hunt....How did the Easter Bunny know I liked Cheerios and Fruit Snacks?

Love this photo----Katie and Nora

Grandpa and Nora

Nora showing off in the shadows on the steps

Drooly McGee

We were with the Forslunds for Easter this year. We went to church at the Chanhassen High School which was through Westwood. (Matt will want me to write that Kim Kardashian was at the ACTUAL Westwood building as she is dating Kris Humphreys whose parents go to Westwood)....anyway back to the REAL reason of Easter!!! Church was great, I love Easter time and just reflecting on everything that we are blessed with and given to unconditionally! It is a very reflective time in my year.

Nora was visited by the Easter bunny not only at home but at Grandma and Grandpa's house...lucky girl! There also was an egg hunt

Chuck E. Cheese

Nora playing some game with balls and frogs

The birthday girl!!!!

Not digging Barney!

Chuck E. Cheese is ok, I guess!!

Cousin Nate is scary...!!

Emma had her birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese and Nora was invited!!! How exciting! Nora really didn't know what to think of it all. Holy Tokens, Tickets and KIDS Galore! I don't ever remember being at a Chuck E. Cheese and it was VERY overwhelming to say the least. Nora ate the pizza like a champ (we weren't worried) and then was ALL tuckered out and fell asleep in the car driving out of the parking lot.

Happy Birthday Emma!!!!!

Saturdays....

Our Saturdays consist of me trying to sleep in and Matt getting up with Nora in the morning. They read (she rips) the paper and then normally she runs around w/ just her diaper on for awhile. Nora loves carrying around her 'Wallycat' and 'Wocket' and when Matt is home she wrestles with all of them together. Matt has Wallycat chase her and then Wocket comes and gets Matt. It is fun to watch and she giggles and tries to get away. She enjoys that time with her daddy.

More Cooking in the Kitchen....

What do you need me to stir mommy?

Let's hope there are no eggs in here!

What...you want to eat some of this food?

I had a craving for this oat trail mix, special k bars and cheesy biscuits.....so what does a crazy pregnant lady do? She makes them all!!! Nora was quite the helper and loved playing with the egg carton. I had to bribe her with chocolate chips to not want to go upstairs or downstairs until we were done. She did a great job!

16 Months Old

Nora loves being outside. Loves giving hugs/kisses when she wants to and loves puppies (or anything furry!) She is an expert on climbing up and down steps, although she wants to do it the big girl way (holding mommy/daddy's hands). She is also an expert on TEMPER TANTRUMS. We had to leave Home Depot due to her not settling down after I said she shouldn't run the cart into the aisles. She also throws the TT when we have to go inside after being outside.

She says:
mama
dada
puppa
yep....that is IT! everything else is duhda...and she speaks like we are really knowing what she is saying!

She has TONS of hair and I feel like I need to cut it ALL the time. She does NOT like me putting pigtails in her hair. She loves eating. She loves moving the tupperware from the cabinet to the living room. She LOVES her daddy so it is extra sweet when she loves on me! She is very balanced and RUNS everywhere. She still loves her lovey(bear w/ blanket) and her nuk. I have decided to let her have these until after baby comes because I don't want her to think that we took her nuk away because of new baby!! She loves ripping paper. Did I mention she loves EATING, especially fruit and veggies.

She is getting over her timidness and will definitely test boundaries. We have had to start putting her in timeout (when she throws the temper tantrums--she HITS)! She will walk away from you and just GO....so she is getting more independent. BUT she gets frustrated when things don't work out right away and then doesn't keep TRYING!!!! It will be interesting to see if that trait sticks with her (because that is SO not me....try, try and then try again!)

She makes mommy & daddy very proud!

First Trip to the Zoo

Nora and Emma

Ben and Emma

I had a volleyball tournament today so Matt and his cousin Ben and their girls (Nora & Emma) went to the Minnesota Zoo. I guess Nora called everything a 'puppa' (puppy). She also liked looking at the fish in the huge aquarium. It was a fun daddy/daughter day for both Matt and Ben.

RAIN BOOTS

She will love this photo when she is older!!!!

Nora loves these rain boots we got from a neighbor. She tries to get them on and gets frustrated if she can't do it. Here's a REAL CLASSY photo of her after she got the boots on.

Trip to the Farm to Help my Brother, See the Great Grandma and Celebrate a 1st Birthday!!!

Up walking already???

eating prunes...yummy!

My older brother, Brandon, had back surgery and his wife was out of town so I went to help!!! I walked in the door and he was standing up---what didn't you JUST have back surgery----I guess they want patients walking around to help loosen things up. It was fun being at my parents house and LAUGHING with my brother. I was supposed to go there to make him laugh, but he ended up making me laugh so hard I was crying the first night I was there.

My Grandma Nora moved from her assisted living in Fargo to Dawson's care center so we were able to see her as well.

We celebrated Laney's 1st birthday as well so it was a fun filled weekend.

My mom took home Charlie and Lincoln from the birthday party...Nora wanted to play 'army guys' with them. They did not want her knocking down their nice rows of guys!

Nora also hung out with Wally the cat (Matt's cat that we gave away to my parents to save our marriage!)

Shelving in our Garage

Not quite shelving, I guess, but we did put plywood in our rafters so we have more storage space. GUESS who was the one who got to be IN the rafters and drilling the plywood down....ME (yes at 7 months pregnant). Matt has gotten handy with a shop vac as our basement had water damage and he got to clean it up and pull up carpet and ugh....SO NOT FUN!
We now have storage for all those things that were in the basement though so wow, we are smart thinkers!!

Finally Semi-Warm ENOUGH to be Outside

Are you sure about this mom?

This is Fun!!!

Too Far Nora....come back!

The snow is slowly melting and the temperatures are starting to creep up....and Nora is LOVING being outside. She throws a fit when we have to come inside, which is normally because I am freezing. We have no yard so Nora walks up and down the driveway and is now venturing into walking the alleyway (scary for me to see my little girl walking all by herself down the long road!!!)

While she was adventuring....I built this!

Mama and Nora Cooking

Nora is LOVING being in the kitchen with me. She has a little step stool that she climbs up on and then loves to bang the spoons or play with her sippy cup dryer rack. I think she loves it because she gets to sneak food PLUS I give her 'tastes' of what I am making. She is really getting a personality and it is fun to hang out with her. I remember when I was young being in the kitchen with my mom and making banana bread (we always had a small loaf that we got to bake just for us!). I hope Nora can come away from our kitchen experiences with the joy and knowledge that I did from my mom/grandma!

Not quite sure what to think

You mean we get to lick the spoon??

YUMMY!

She LOVES running around the kitchen with my mixing bowls...I am surprised she hasn't dropped one on her toe!

Matt's Work Party

Me and Kristi (an old coworker whose husband works for Shavlik)

Karaoke after dinner

Every year Matt's work hosts a 'midwinter blues' party. This year it was in South Minneapolis and there was great food and a comedian. We had a babysitter, Grandma and Grandpa Forslund, and on the drive home all Matt and I could say is that we wish we would've just stayed home and watched a movie in bed! Does that make us old? boring? Oh well, we had fun, just sometimes when you get that ONE night away from your baby you just want to go to bed early and SLEEP instead of staying up all night watching others drink (ok well Matt had a few, but I was not able to partake!!)

Overall, it was a great time to catch up with Matt's coworkers and see some new colleagues that he is working with. Shavlik knows how to throw a party....that is for sure!

We took the plunge...

and got a NICE camera. How did we even have the patience for our other camera before? Wow, it is slow! I am afraid to use the new DSLR camera as I seem to be the one who wrecks all the other cameras. Stay posted for NEW & IMPROVED photos from the Forslunds!!

Here are just some random photos from the first week of trying it out!

Did I mention....

Nora can go UP & DOWN the stairs now. Finally

after trying and trying and trying

after crying and crying and crying (by both mama and Nora!)

Hooray for the big girl.

Now she thinks she is Miss Independent and goes downstairs and "waits" for mommy to come down after getting ready or goes upstairs to find her blanket and nuk! What a big girl